Smith Point Sea Rescue (SPSR) editor Brent Stansbury recently reported that crews responded to the following recent calls for assistance in September and October.
September 6: SPSR provided special assistance support to the Cardboard Regatta on Cockrell Creek in Reedville. Organizer Dave Clark of the Northern Neck Wooden Boat School, the boat builders and racers staged a spectacular show of seamanship and cardboard boat building. Total time, 3 hours.
September 14: SPSR supported the Northumberland Association for Progressive Stewardship (NAPS) 2025 Creek Clean-Up on Cockrell Creek. Rescue III provided water safety support and SPSR Rescue Skiffs A and B transported eager trash pickers who scoured the shores and shallows for trash and debris. A great lesson for all boaters is to control their trash and keep shorelines clean. Total time, 4 hours.
September 23: At 10 a.m., SPSR answered a call from a 34-foot Sea Ray with engine failure. Rescue II with a crew of four responded from Olverson’s Lodge Creek Marina and located the vessel in the Yeocomico River near Mill Creek. SPSR towed the disabled vessel to Tall Timbers Marina in Maryland for repairs. Total time: 3.75 hours.
September 28: At 4:15 p.m., SPSR received a call from the Northumberland County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) reporting a disabled sailing vessel near Rogue Point in the Great Wicomico River. Rescue III with a crew of five responded from Cockrell Creek and located a 38-foot sailboat with a crew of two aboard. SPSR towed the sailboat to the owner’s pier on Tipers Creek. Total time, 2.0 hours.
October 3: Sea Rescue was alerted that a 15-foot skiff required assistance near marker R10 in the Great Wicomico River. Rescue III with a crew of three located the single-handed Smokercraft caught up in a crab trap near Haynie Point. SPSR freed the skiff without cutting the crab pot line and the fisherman continued to his home dock. Total time, 1 hour.
October 4: SPSR received a dispatch from NCSO that a “center console has hydraulic issues” near the jetties at Smith Point. Rescue I with a crew of four responded from Smith Point Marina. SPSR contacted the vessel’s captain and learned the 19-foot Center Console had lost steering and was outside the jetties. Rescue I proceeded but was initially grounded on a falling tide at the mouth of the jetties. Rescue I freed itself and located the fisherman and his canine companion. Rescue I towed the boat back through the jetties to its home pier on Bridge Creek. Total time, 2.5 hours.
October 4: Sea Rescue received a dispatch from NCSO that a “jet ski has run aground near Chesapeake Bay Wicomico Inlet.” SPSR assembled two crews, for Rescue III and shallow-draft Skiff A. Using the i911 app, SPSR generated an approximate location of the jet ski in the Dameron Marsh area south of the entrance to the Great Wicomico River. After implementing a search pattern, Skiff A located the jet ski and its adult driver well aground in the tall reeds of the marsh. Skiff A passed a line and towed the vessel free of the marsh and out to Rescue III waiting in deeper water. Due to the condition of the jetski and its rider, a decision was made to tow the vessel to Fairport Marina for the night. A Sea Rescue member drove the rider home. Total time, 3.0 hours.
October 18: Smith Point Sea Rescue held a commemorative wreath laying to remember the 11 young lives tragically lost at the sinking of the USCGC CUYAHOGA (WIX-157) when it was struck by the Argentine M/V SANTA CRUZ II in the central Chesapeake Bay near Smith Point Light on October 20, 1978. SPSR was honored to be asked by the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to conduct the wreath laying, because SPSR helped with the search and recovery effort in the aftermath of the collision. Eighteen of the Cutter’s crew were rescued. Total time, 2 hours.
October 19: At 11 a.m., SPSR responded to a USCG call that a 41-foot Maxum with two aboard was taking on water two miles east of Smith Point. Responding from Cockrell Creek with a crew of four, Rescue I encountered heavy seas and high winds as it raced to the reported location. Enroute Rescue 1 readied its onboard dewatering pumps and flotation gear. SPSR also dispatched a member’s 23-foot T-Top from the Little Wicomico to serve as quick response support. Arriving on scene, SPSR met the USCG response vessel and Maryland Department of Natural Resources vessels. SPSR stood by to assist as needed. USCG dewatered the vessel and took the Maxum in tow to Point Look Out Marina. SPSR returned to base. Total time, 2.5 hours.
Smith Point Sea Rescue is a volunteer rescue unit that serves boaters on the Potomac River and its tributaries from Coles Point to Smith Point, across the Chesapeake Bay to Smith and Tangier islands, and south to Windmill Point. The organization receives no regular governmental monetary support, depending solely on donations.
Smith Point Sea Rescue does not charge for its services and can be reached on VHF channel 16 or by calling 911. Rescue I, Rescue III and Rescue Skiff A are based in Reedville, Rescue II and Rescue Skiff B on Lodge Creek near Callao.
